I do have a question about it, though. I read the description, but just reading about the size tells me absolutely nothing. I have to be able to see and hold a bag to know how big it is. Would that bag hold a book (a paperback, nothing huge), or is it too shallow?

This bag IS fantastic, and you should see how many people have tried to drag it away from me . What will it hold? Depends on how much you want to carry. I have a really skinny wallet made I think by Treska. I just grabbed Patricia Cornwell’s book called Post-Mortem (not as big a Michener paperback) and it fits and zips. I’ve also got my keys, my cellphone, a lipstick and a brush. Usually, I carry a small notebook in it — not a book. I’m not promising that every paperback will fit in it, but unless you carry everything but the kitchen sink in your purse, it should work. You’ll love it, and it comes in black if you would rather (naahhh–you want the red one).

You don’t know how many people have tried to “rassle” me for this purse!